Geographies of Change and Persistence

Luis Sanchez, Assistant Professor of Sociology, invested his summer working with undergraduate Sociology students Lupita Jasso, Melanie Recendiz, and Armon Sanders. Professor Sanchez and his team examined demographic change in Ventura County using US Census data and Geographic Information Systems technology. Among their findings were:

Ventura County has become more diverse since 1980, yet it remains less diverse than the state as a whole

Simi Valley and Camarillo are home to some of the county’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Ventura County

In Ventura County, the least diverse neighborhoods are most likely to be predominately Latino communities

70.4% of the most disadvantaged Ventura County neighborhoods in 1980 remained the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in 2016